The new multipurpose building at Church of the Palms in Sarasota houses a café, a lounge, three classrooms, a stage area and a gym.

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There are several sustainable aspects of the building, from a roof designed for the possible addition of solar panels down the road to the use of insulated building materials.

To construct the shell of the building, the team used insulated concrete forms. “It’s a lot different than a normal concrete block,” says Justin Williams, Jon F. Swift Construction vice president and project manager. “You stack them like Legos, and they are hollow in the middle. You get the entire job stacked up, and you fill the entire thing with concrete.”

The 48-by-16-inch blocks are made of two pieces of Styrofoam. The foam acts as an insulator, Williams says. Unlike concrete block, which involves separate insulation and framing steps, the insulated concrete form process is more streamlined. “It’s quicker because there are a lot less steps,” he says.

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Because of its ability to insulate well, the technology is popular in the northern part of the U.S. where it’s colder. But Williams thinks more projects in Florida will start using it, too, because it insulates from heat as well. It’s also a huge labor saver, helpful amid an industry-wide labor shortage. “When you can cut down steps and eliminate processes," he says, "it’s certainly going to save time and money.”

• Project: Palms Center, Church of the Palms

• Builder: Jon F. Swift Construction Inc., Sarasota

• Architect: Carlson Studio Architecture, Sarasota

• Location: Sarasota

• Start date: April 2017

• Completion: April

• Value: $3.3 million

• Size: One story, 14,000 square feet

• Challenge: The biggest challenge, says Justin Williams, Jon F. Swift Construction vice president and project manager, was making sure sound in the building’s gym didn’t get out of hand. The gym's ceilings reach 30 feet high. “We were looking for a way to quiet the gym down,” Williams says. “We went to some other gyms at churches, and they were echo chambers.”

The fix? Crews installed sound-absorbing panels on the ceiling made of metal with fiberglass inside. The goal was twofold: conceal gym sounds from other rooms in the building and allow people to hear each other in the gym itself. The result is a space that can be used for a range of activities, from basketball and community events to meetings and after-church coffee hours.